Alarming to Whom? Hell, the More, the Merrier

Unlicensed motorbike riders dying at an alarming rate in NYC

Motorcyclist deaths on New York City streets are surging so far this year — and the majority of the fatal victims are unlicensed and tooling around on unregistered vehicles, city officials said Tuesday.

After doubling from 25 to 51 between 2019 and 2020, motorcyclist deaths have remained high through the first nine months of 2021, Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman testified at a city council oversight hearing.

Of those deaths, 75 percent of victims were “not properly licensed,” Gutman said. Approximately 70 percent were riding unregistered motorbikes or bikes with “unknown registration.”

Gutman said drivers with suspended licenses are a particular problem, citing Tyrik Mott, who was busted in September for killing a 3-month-old and injuring her parents in a wrong-way hit-and-run.

“The driver was operating on a suspended license. He had a long record of offenses. He shouldn’t have been on the road, his car should not have been on the road,” he said. “These suspensions often have no effect on the drivers and they go out and drive betting that they won’t be caught.”